Guardian of Dimentions
by Princess Kassie
Summary: Everyone knows there is something going on with seventeen year old Kayleyanna Marie Flint. Things just don't seem to add up and everyone she encounters seems to only get a porton of who this girl is. Even her own parents don't know who she is anymore. Twenty-two year old Elizabeth Banks is on a crusaide to discover excatly what is up
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Some Things Just Don't Add Up.

Elizabeth Banks stayed quiet as she watched the girl. Kayleyanna Marie Flint was seventeen and yet Elizabeth found herself spying on the teen for her parents. This wasn't a case of stalking or something normally considered bad this was a case of several people who honestly cared for the girl being worried enough to try to discover what was going on. Elizabeth was one of those people as well, having been Kayley's babysitter when she was younger and now being a close friend she too was worried for the girl. Kayleyanna was fifteen when she began acting strangely. She would rush off to bed early in the evening and then get up unusually early. That was the first change in the brunette teens behaviour but not the last. She became more and more of a recluse began to say things that made absolutely no sense and began going on long Disney movie marathons of her own, even of old ones like Steamboat Willy. Then things became even stranger. Then five months ago her mother found the first scar. Kayley, still fifteen at the time had pulled on a tank top and her mother had seen it. The scar itself was an inch wide and circular shaped similarly to a star burst. When her mother had approached and questioned her about it Kayley not only refused to tell her how she got it but actually told her mother it was non of her business. Things only got worse from there as Kayley's mother told her to strip exposing a grand total of four sets of large scars on her upper torso alone. Once Elizabeth had heard this she had begun to wonder. There were times when Kayley would suddenly come down with an illness which lasted a day or so before it vanished. What was stranger was that Kayley's family and anyone she was exposed to almost never caught the same illness. Which lead to where Elizabeth was today, watching Kayley from the nurse's office window as the recently turned seventeen year old worked on a project for school. It was about then that Kayley suddenly jerked upright. She sprang up like a shot and suddenly began stuffing items in her bag before tearing around to the front of the school. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and quietly began to count. She reached fifty in time for Kayley to come diving into the nurses office and puke in the garbage can. The girl was pale, covered in sweat and shaking. Elizabeth frowned, Kayley hadn't had time to prepare being sick. Though the vomiting wasn't hard to force and the sweat was probably from running all the way around the school with her coat and backpack on. Still, she would drive Kayley home and she would find out what was going on with her no matter what.

Elizabeth frowned. There was no way Kayley got out the front door of her house and her bedroom window was well within her line of sight from within the car. Something wasn't adding up, it didn't make sense. That was when Elizabeth began to feel drowsy exhaustion crept up on her and she slowly drifted off into sleep. Years later she would look back on that day and wonder how she didn't realize the sleep was unnatural. She had gotten plenty of sleep the night before and had a large mocha, she shouldn't have felt drowsy let alone have fallen asleep. But she did and what occurred because of it was a strange and wondrous world opening up to her.

Elizabeth woke up to the sound of Kayley's voice cussing the heck out of someone. "Michael Walter Mouse show your bloody-" what proceeded was a string of original cuss words that made Elizabeth realize just how much Kayley had changed over the years. The teenagers soft quiet voice had become strong and defined, full of confidence and authority. That was one of the issues with the Kayley joined a gang theory which was supplied by the aforementioned girl's parents, Kayley's changes were on average more positive. She was stronger, more intelligent and had a stronger work ethic not signs of someone who had joined a gang or cult. Blinking Elizabeth opened her eyes a soft violet most swirled in amongst a deep blue starry background. It was full of peace. It was then Elizabeth realized that she had fallen asleep in her locked car and now was staring up at a sky that did not look like it should exist anywhere outside the imagination. "You finally woke up. You've been sleeping for almost twenty minutes." Kayley's voice sounded again as her face appeared over Elizabeth. The familiar pale skin that never seemed to tan, the freckles that stood out sharply yet complimented the dark almost black eyes and the equally dark hair. Kayley was not a beauty, she was sturdily built though, about average, she had little muscle tone and her face was soft and rounded. Her hips and waist were more defined then her top since she was a C or large B cup. Yet Kayley had a charm that was all her own, a sweet innocent charm which had slowly vanished. It was that charm that she so missed about Kayley. Elizabeth had never seen Kayley's scars and where they supposedly were unless she was wearing a sleeveless shirt that showed her belly Elizabeth knew she's probably never see. "You okay Liz? You're looking a little dreamy. Here take my hand, I'll help you sit up." Liz grabbed the offered hand and allowed Kayley to pull her up. "Careful," Kay key warned, "the boat isn't very stable." Boat? Elizabeth blinked and looked around. They were sitting, crouching in Kayley's case, in a wooden lifeboat the top bit, the bow, was torn off and the wood around the torn area was charred and blackened.

"What on earth?" Elizabeth muttered as she looked around, "where are we?" "D- well, this is the Etherium." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, Kayley once again was keeping secrets, "what is the Etherium?" Elizabeth demanded, "and where is my car?" It was Kayley's turn to glare. "Your car is parked in front of my home back on earth which we are not on. Listen I have no idea how you followed me but you need to go back home so while I try to figure out how to do that you need to listen to and obey everything I tell you," "Excuse me," Elizabeth sat up straighter her copper coloured hair blowing in the wind, "I don't believe that I take orders from you." "If you want to live you will," Kayley responded coldly. Elizabeth eyed the girl, she looked angry, angry and frustrated, her hands were clenching into fits around the green button up blouse she was wearing. It was then she noticed that Kayley wasn't wearing any outfit she had seen before. A soft button up blouse, brown cargo pants and sky blue flats. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail tied with a red ribbon with floppy bunny ears suggesting it had been tied in a bow.  
"What do you-" "Listen," Kayley interrupted her briskly, "there is a ship coming to pick us up, you are not to say anything to the people aboard. Just follow my lead." Kayley then stood and turned away. Elizabeth followed the girl's line of sight. A large boat came floating through thin air it slowed down as it approached and looking up Elizabeth could see the activity occurring above. The bottom of the boat floated a good four feet above them and for an instant Elizabeth was worried that they would drift underneath it. Kayley though stayed standing, her arms waving wildly. A few seconds later a ladder was let down and a large man who had to be at least six feet tall came down quickly just stopping at the bottom rung. He was still a good few feet above them but that didn't seen to bother either he or Kayley.

"Are you two alright?"

"We're fine," Kayley responded confidently. "Good, do you think the boat will hold being pulled up to our level?" Kayley frowned at the large blond and after some careful consideration said in a slightly unsure tone, "it should, the damage right now is pretty minimal, how are you going to do that though?" By way of an answer four heavy coils of ropes were dropped into the boat. Kayley eyed them then nodded. "Stay calm and tie the ends of the rope to parts of the boat that look like they'll hold." "Alright," Kayley passed two of the coils to Elizabeth, "work on the back," she muttered quietly before grabbing the other two and moving up to the front. Elizabeth sighed and moved slowly to the back.

After all four ropes were tied on securely Kayley grabbed the four ends and tied them together. "Ready," she called. The large blond man relayed the cry up to his shipmates. A few seconds later a rope with a hook was sent down via a crane leaning over one side of the ship. As the lifeboat was pulled up Elizabeth tried to think of where she had heard the word Etherium before.

* * *

Captain Harrison Oak watched as his men pulled the ruined lifeboat and the two stranded women to the deck of his ship. The RLS Odyssey was his pride and joy, she had served him well and faithfully for over twenty years and in the elderly captains opinion there was no finer sky ship to be found even among the intergalactic fleet. He watched as the two girls were helped out of the boat and the wreckage was thrown overboard. The younger girl was probably in her late teens and the older was in her mid to late twenties.

Harry Oak frowned as he looked at the girls. The older had long strawberry blond hair pulled into a practical ponytail. She wore a white short sleeved shirt and a pair of tight blue pants. Her boots were a sturdy pair made of worn brown leather. She was about twenty-two years old pale, with a slight brushing of freckles the telltale sign of a redhead. Her hazel eyes were wide and her knees shaking. Her clothing suggested someone with a good paying job and her sturdy boots were the type often seen among those who worked on the various ports around the Etherium. He would have put her as someone who had been on a ship before if it wasn't for the fact she looked slightly green around the gills. Still, they were attacked, she could be used to travel by boat but had never been attacked before. Being attacked by pirates, or worse, slavers could even strike fear in the hearts of the most seasoned sailors.

Oak's sharp grey eyes wandered over to the other. The girl was about sixteen or seventeen years old. She wasn't particularly tall or thin like her companion. She was about five foot five compared to the five foot seven or eight of her counterpart and of average weight. The teenager wore a green, long sleeved, button up blouse, a pair of brown cargo pants and blue ballet flats. From the wear showing on the clothes they were clearly worn often but also well cared for. They must have been her favourites. The girl's long hair was dark brown, matching her eyes. She too was pale and was absolutely covered in freckles even her hands. As he eyed the girl he noticed something that bothered him. Her eyes and facial expression were schooled. She seemed to calm, there were no shakes, no hysterics, no fear. Her eyes were completely void of all emotion in that moment.

Then her friend collapsed. It wasn't much, the shakes in her knees proved to great and her legs buckled. The cabin boy, a eighteen year old Unis by the name of Rupert caught her easily.

Fear filled the brunette's eyes as she cried, "Liz!"  
Liz, the older girl, probably short for Elizabeth looked up, seeming slightly dazed. Oak smiled. "You Lassies okay?" he asked. The brunette jerked and turned to look at him. After she decided he wasn't a threat she turned back to her friend.

"I'm fine Kayley. Just a little shaky."

"You're in no condition to say that. A little shaky? You're shivering. Listen, you need to find a quiet place where you can rest, I'll answer any questions, okay?"

"I don't think-"

"It's not a choice. Excuse me, do you have any spare rooms for my mentor here? She's in shock and needs to rest and clam down." Oak's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He nodded to John Henderson, his first mate. Something wasn't right here. This girl claimed that the woman, Elizabeth, was her mentor but her 'mentor' had looked surprised to be addressed as such. The ties on the boat were like that a sailor would use but the girl's clothes suggested wealth.

"Men back away! Give the lass some space." Elizabeth and the Canius Henderson walked off while Oak turned to look at Kayley. Her eyes sparkled with an unspoken challenge. He was fully willing to take on that challenge.  
He guided her into his quarters and was more then a little unnerved by the fact that she didn't seem uncomfortable. She still held the gleam in her eye. He suddenly realized that he might have just played into her hands. "What is your last name?" He asked, posing the first question. The girl turned to look at him. The look had vanished from her eyes and for a moment she looked fragile. "Flint, Kayleyanna Marie Flint." she responded before speaking, "I would have thought that the captain of a ship would have a much more impressive cabin," she murmured.

"I'm the captain of a goods ship, not a passenger or army ship. If I was, my quarters would be much more impressive." Miss Flint snorted, "I'm sure." "So where are you from miss Flint? And where are your parents?" "It's Kayley, not miss Flint. My parents are at home. I'm with my mentor slash teacher Elizabeth Banks. She's a nurse." Harry did not miss the fact she completely missed answering one of the questions. He would bet his good suit that it hadn't been an accident. "So what happened to you two women to leave you stranded and alone on a lifeboat?" miss Flint sighed and began her tale.

As he listened to the tale he noticed that her report was almost two perfect. She reported what happened to him like a officer. She knew what happened almost… to well. The way she talked, ever so calmly when she was describing what happened told the captain all he needed to know. The girl was lying, making a story up.  
"… and then we saw your ship, the Odyssey right? Well, you know the rest."

"Are you sticking with that or will you tell me the truth?" miss Flint looked up at him, straight in the eye. "I don't know what you're talking about sir," she said without a tremor. This girl was to good, she could lie so easily. The captain narrowed his eyes, "Someone with my age and experience can tell when someone's lying." she looked surprised for a split second before breaking out into laughter.

"I'm sorry…" she gasped as the laughing slowed, "that was just too funny. So captain, can everyone your age tell that someone is lying, or only people your age with the same experience?" she chortled. "It depends on the situation," her face fell and she became serious, "That's true." With a sigh she sat down on his hammock before speaking again. "I cannot tell you the truth, I'm not allowed to, just trust me when I say this, I am a friend and neither Ms. Banks nor I will hurt your crew or your person. I swear it upon the graves of my ancestors." Harry nodded, that was a serious oath to take. You would be stupid to take it in vain. Oak wasn't a superstitious man but he did know that some paths weren't to play around with. He nodded, "Thank you, I recommend you go to your mentor, she'll probably be waiting for you." she nodded and opened the door, just before she walked out she turned and asked, "By the way, what port are you stopping off at next?"

"Is it important?"

"Not really, I was just curious." and with that last statement she left. Oak sighed and wondered how Henderson was doing.

* * *

Henderson looked down at the young woman who was sitting on the hammock. There was a separate side of the bunks for women and it was much smaller since only two of the crew were woman. Two more hammocks would still leave them plenty of room.

Ms. Banks looked up at him with mild interest, eyeing him a little suspiciously. Her eyes travelling from his paw like hands, to his ears and snout then to his swishing dark tail. Henderson was well aware that he was more animalistic looking then the average of his kind, however this should not allow for the way she was looking at him, as though he were something dangerous. It occurred to him that perhaps they had come from Earth. He shook his head, that was ridiculous, Earth didn't have any sky boats as the ships that sailed the Etherium were nicknamed. "What's your name?" he finally asked. "Elizabeth Sarah Banks,"

"Well, Ms. Banks, what were you doing out there?" She refused to respond, her eyes wandering around. John Henderson frowned, she wasn't meting his eyes. She could be just feeling awkward around him, or she could be hiding something. "How old are you Ms. Banks." "Twenty-two, what about you?" "Fifty four." "So thirty with twenty four years of experience." Henderson's eyes narrowed, in his culture, age was a key to how you were to be treated. For her to tease about age was a bad, tactless move. Then again she might not have had much experience with the Canius. Just in case he made it very clear, "I'm fifty two," Ms. Banks flushed as she suddenly realized that she might have insulted him. "Sorry," there was a knock at the door. Henderson frowned but answered. It was the younger girl. She smiled when she saw him.

"Thank you for helping Lizzy, can I talk to her now?" Henderson nodded, what else could he do? With a mental sigh he stepped out of the door. It promptly was closed behind him.

"Okay, Kayley, I want answers. Now." Henderson's wolf ears perked upright and he turned, more then a little interested in what was being said.

"Answers for what?" Miss Flint asked, her voice high and sweet.

"You know exactly what, it's the exact same question everyone has wanted to know for three years, what's up with you? What caused this drastic change? You've just turned seventeen for heaven's sakes but you act like a adult, or sometimes a war veteran! And now here I am in a strange place with no idea where I am, on a-"

"Will you keep your voice down?! This isn't home. I'll tell you everything I promise, but first did you tell Henderson anything?"

"No, I wouldn't even know what to tell him if I had wanted to." There was a sigh, then miss Flint spoke again.

"I'm not exactly sure where to start but first, what do you know of my… experience marks?"

"You mean your scars? I don't know much. I've never seen them." There was silence for a few minutes allowing Henderson the chance to think. The older woman, Elizabeth had no idea how she had gotten on the lifeboat. That didn't suggest a pirate attack, she would have known and it couldn't be memory loss because she still knew who the younger girl was. Suddenly there was a cry.

"Oh my God! Kayley!"

"Honestly, they're not that bad, I can't even feel most of them anymore."

"How… it would have taken months for some of those to heal! There is no way that your parents weren't aware."

"They weren't. They didn't even notice the time passing."

"What on earth do you mean?"  
"I…" Several of the crew members passed by. After they were gone all was silent. Henderson knew how to pick his battles and he knew that his chance of eavesdropping was over. He nodded and briskly walked off, planning to tell the captain everything he had heard.

* * *

Elizabeth waiting until the door shut before speaking. Placing her hands firmly on her hips, "Okay Kayley, I want answers, now." she had played along, even collapsing, though it had not entirely been an act. Kayley turned from where she had been inspecting the hammocks, her eyes widening falsely, "Answers for what?" Elizabeth growled, she wasn't in the mood to take crap.

"You know exactly what, it's the exact same question everyone has wanted to know for three years," she snarled, "what's up with you? What caused this drastic change? You've just turned seventeen for heaven's sakes but you act like a adult, or sometimes a war veteran! And now here I am in a strange place with no idea where I am, on a-" to her shock Kayley cut her off, her eyes fierce. For a split second Kayley looked terrifying.

"Will you keep your voice down?!" she barked, throwing her arm out towards the door, "This isn't home. I'll tell you everything I promise, but first did you tell Henderson anything?" As she finished her last sentence her eyes calmed down to their usual soft brown.

"No, I wouldn't even know what to tell him if I had wanted to." Elizabeth admitted before flopping into one of the rough hammocks. It teetered for a second before righting itself. Kayley found a stool to sit on before rubbing a hand across her face.

"I'm not exactly sure where to start but first," she admitted, "what do you know of my… experience marks?"

"You mean your scars?" Elizabeth asked, "I don't know much. I've never seen them." Kayley nodded, then turned away. After a few minutes she stood, back still facing Elizabeth. Her shirt fell.

"Oh my God! Kayley!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Time Goes By

_Kayley found a stool to sit on before rubbing a hand across her face. "I'm not exactly sure where to start but first," she admitted, "what do you know of my… experience marks?" "You mean your scars?" Elizabeth asked, "I don't know much. I've never seen them." Kayley nodded, then turned away. After a few minutes she stood, back still facing Elizabeth. Her shirt fell. "Oh my God! Kayley!"_

Elizabeth just stared in horror at Kayley's back. Three white scars ran lengthwise from right to left. From to her right shoulder to her left hip. On her left shoulder was the star burst scar but Elizabeth hardly pair any attention she was to busy analyzing the scars. Kayley sighed and pulled her bra off as well. "Honestly, they're not that bad, I can't even feel most of them anymore." She turned around and Elizabeth was nearly sick. If she thought Kayley's back was bad it was all put to shame when she looked at the girl's front. Laying across Kayley's right hip reaching all the way to almost mid-belly. The wound had clearly been reopened several times judging by the way it had healed and was about two maybe three months old.

"How… it would have taken months for some of those to heal! There is no way that your parents weren't aware." Elizabeth cried worry filling her. There was no way that Kayley's parents were abusive but those wounds would have needed treatment and if Kayley had ever gone to hospital with them the injury would have been reported to someone. Her parents had to know…

"They weren't. They didn't even notice the time passing." Elizabeth frowned at the interesting word choice. They didn't even notice the time passing?

"What on earth do you mean?"

"I…" The sound of voices filled the hall causing Kayley to stop and wait. A few minutes passed. Kayley stood walking over before pressing her ear to the door. Once she was confident that no one could hear them she turned and continued in a quieter tone.

"I wish I could explain but I'm not allowed and if I break to many rules I'm in big trouble, I should be on probation if it wasn't for extenuating circumstances I would be." Elizabeth just gaped at Kayley for a moment before managing, "Probation, so you are in a group of some sort?" Kayley frowned as she bent down, grabbing her discarded bra and shirt.

"Sort of, it's more like an… society or organization. It's pretty hush hush. Most people don't know about it and even active members aren't allowed to know everything. At least I'm not low man on the totem pole anymore." During her speech Kayley had been putting her clothes back on. She began buttoning up the blouse when Elizabeth found herself speaking again.

"So how did you get those scars?"

"A bunch of different ways, gunshot, knife, attempted burning at the stake and a few other ways which I really don't want to get into… bad memories." Kayley fell silent, fully dressed.

"Burning?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Kayley raised one foot tilting it upwards so Elizabeth could see. The skin was a mottled pink and brown caused by second or third degree burns that hadn't been properly treated. Elizabeth blinked but didn't say much, her attention wandering to the girl's hand which was resting right above the wound on her side.

"What about that one?" Elizabeth asked, nodding to where Kayley's hand rested. Kayley winced in response.

"It's one of my more extreme ones. It almost killed me… I… I... I think I need a breather." With that Kayley took a few quick strides and left the room. For a moment Elizabeth looked after her before she sighed and lay back on the hammock. Some battles could wait until a later day.

* * *

Rupert Collins, the cabin boy, stared out over the Eutherium, leaning his large arms over the edge of the ship. Being hired on a ship had been his dream since he was very young. Of course, back then he thought he'd be hired as captain. He now knew it took a lot more to become a captain. He was eighteen and only now a cabin boy. He was defiantly not set out to be the youngest captain since the record was twenty-two years old. Maybe he'd be the first Unis captain for the intergalactic fleet though. Maybe.

He sighed as the wind ruffled his blond hair. "Oh, sorry I didn't realize anyone else was out here." He turned. The girl they had rescued today, lee something was standing behind him. Her hair also blew in the wind. "Oh no, it's no problem," he quickly said moving over a little so she could join him at the rail. She smiled and came to stand beside him. Rupert turned to get a good look at her. She was short, well for a Unis, he was six foot three, which was on the short end for a Unis. But being human, she probably was about average. She had brown hair, warm brown eyes and small delicate features. A fragile little thing. Humans were known for being fragile, human women especially. She just stared out into the Eutherium, her eyes solemn.

"What's your name?" she asked. Collins blinked before turning and looking at her. She hadn't stopped her vigil, her eyes hadn't even strayed towards him. "Rupert Collins," he responded dumbfounded, "what's yours?"

"Kayleyanna Flint," came the flippant response. Collins frowned, he didn't know why but for some reason he had expected her to break down and tell a tear jerking tale while sobbing the entire time. Wasn't that what human women did after something scary happened? After a few moments she sighed, her hand resting on a spot beside her stomach before she turned and walked away. Collins looked back after her before shrugging it off. She was a strange human woman that was for sure.

* * *

There was a knock on the cabin door. Elizabeth groaned, burying her head deeper into the pillow. Her movement caused her bed to sway and it took a second before she remembered where she was. On a ship somewhere, in a place called the Etherium. With a sigh Elizabeth sat up, Kayley lay sprawled out on the floor from where she had been dumped off her hammock by her tossing and turning. Elizabeth smiled at the girl before gently shaking her awake. Kayley moaned and swatted Elizabeth's hand away. Elizabeth sighed, then noticed Kayley's foot sticking out of the blanket she was trapped in. Smiling wickedly Elizabeth simply placed her cold hand on Kayley's warm foot.

The effect was immediate. Kayley sprung up with a cry akin to a dog being shot. Then fell over as she tripped in her blanket. In Kayley's credit she didn't shout or scream or even make a sound of pain. Instead she shot a cold look at Elizabeth and asked in a scathing tone, "was that really necessary?" Elizabeth just sighed and walked to the door. "Hello?" she asked as the metal hinges creaked open at her insistence. The young man who had tossed them the ropes yesterday stood outside. It was surprisingly bright outside for what she suspected was rather early.

"Um… hello, the captain requested to talk to both of you." Elizabeth took a moment to get a better look. He was very large but looked slightly overweight and muscular. About six feet tall. What caught her attention though was his ears, instead of two on the side of his head he had two tiny cat like ones perched at the top.

"Hi Rupert," Kayley said lightly. The blond man blushed before sliding away with surprising grace for someone his size.  
Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and followed him, Kayley right behind her. It was so strange seeing people who looked so different, who were totally different species then human. Elizabeth wondered how long it would take for her to become used to seeing species other then humans. She figured it would take a long time.  
The two girls and the cabin boy headed over the golden coloured deck to the Captain's quarters. Captain Oak met them outside.

"As much as I would like to leave you two to have a free trip, this is a cargo ship and it's made for working on."

"You want us to work?" Kayley asked as Rupert walked away to begin swabbing the deck, "that's great but as what? A nurse and her assistant?"

"That was what I was thinking of," Oak admitted, "but you may work elsewhere as well if you wish."  
"It sounds fine," Elizabeth quickly added before Kayley could speak for her, "We don't want to be a bother anyway." Kayley needed to back down and allow her to speak, it looked more then a little strange that an 'apprentice' spoke more often then her teacher. Captain Oak smiled warmly, nodded then headed off, carefully straightening his captain's hat as he walked. Kayley eyed Elizabeth then smiled, "come on," she laughed, "we sort of forgot something in our hurry to leave," Elizabeth scrunched up her brow, trying to remember what it was they had forgotten. Kayley chuckled and then held up a tangled rat's nest in her hair.

* * *

It had been a week since the two strange woman had joined the crew of the RLS Odyssey. Kayley had easily adjusted to her new life taking it up as though she had been born on a ship. Elizabeth… not so much. She was still learning how things worked. Captain Oak and his first mate kept a close eye on the strangers, getting more and more involved in the mystery. Still as days turned into weeks the women became part of the crew. Kayley seemed to be working everywhere she not only helped out Elizabeth but also worked alongside the rest of the crew. She was bonding with each and every member of Oak's crew, even old superstitious Simon admitted that "she's a nice girl," before adding that it still wasn't her place to be on the ship. Oak was still suspicious of the girl and her companion, there was something off on how she behaved. Plus he had the information that Henderson had given him. A seventeen year old girl with that many scars didn't seem right. He was tempted to tell her to strip or show her scars but knew that would be a scandal and he wasn't willing to put his crew through that. Another thing that worried him was the cabin boy's sudden interest in the younger girl. Collins could not afford to be distracted by a girl if he wanted to one day be a captain. Kayley had been working various position through the ship while Elizabeth worked as a nurse. Even Oak had to admit that she was talented when on of his men broke a leg.

Today he was inspecting both his crew and his ship. Elizabeth was talking to old Simon about various injuries and how best to treat them but Kayley was sitting on the edge of the boat, her feet swinging. Collins was watching the girl out of the corner of his eye as he tried to figure her out.

"Ship to Port!" A few heads turned in curiosity but Kayley who was sitting on the port side simply turned her head a little. Oak himself grabbed a telescope and peered through. It looked like a large passenger ship, but there was no one on deck besides the crew. Oak felt dread sink into his stomach, as he watched through the glass he realized in horror that his gut was right.

"Defensive manoeuvres! Now men!" He called, startling his first mate. Instantly everyone jumped into action the two women took off across the deck right to him.

"Captain, what is it?" Kayley called worry crossing her face. "Get below deck ladies and stay hidden until I call you out. No matter what happens stay quiet and don't leave your hiding places." he barked. He had no time for explanations. Kayley nodded firmly and grabbed Elizabeth's hand before running to safety though if Oak was honest with himself if he was right then unless they escaped there would be no safety.

* * *

Elizabeth followed after Kayley, her heart caught in her throat and stones in her stomach. Fear filled her and for the first time Elizabeth wondered what the captain had seen and who Kayley had reacted so quickly. Only one thought came to her mind, pirates. Kayley passed the door that lead to their room and kept moving down heading to the kitchen or whatever it was called on a boat. She stopped in front of the storage room.

"We can hide in here."

"Will the captain be able to find us here?" Elizabeth asked Kayley worriedly.

"We have more problems then the captain finding us, Liz, that was no pirate ship."

"What was it?" Elizabeth asked with a tremor as Kayley pushed open the door "It was a slave ship."

* * *

Above deck Captain Oak was shouting orders to Henderson who quickly relaid the information to the crew. He knew now the ship was a slave ship and if they were captured he, his men and anyone else on the boat would be sold to the highest bidder. Slavery was illegal in every part of the Etherium under the queen's rule however that didn't stop some from consistently straying into her majesties territory hoping for some of their illegal wares. "Captain! We're not going to make it!" Oak turned as something hit the side of his ship. Crying he was sent sailing across the deck. He hit the mast with a thud. Blackness clouded his vision.

Once he was able to see again the slave ship had come significantly closer, chains attached the side of the Odyssey to the other boat. People he didn't recognize fought with his men and Oak realized with a sinking feeling of dread that the slavers had boarded his ship. Oak struggled to right himself, he wasn't young anymore and everyday standing of getting up from low points became harder and harder to succeed at. Finally he managed to get to his knees and pull himself up by a rope. The battles were still going but many of his men were beginning to falter. Some of them were bleeding. To his surprise the cabin boy Collins, was still flinging strong, wielding a large metal bar which the captain was unsure where it came from.

"Why, speak of the devil." Oak turned to see a young blond man in his mid twenties approaching, a laser gun held in his hand, "I was beginning to wonder if this _fine_ ship had a captain at all." the young man smirked viciously. Oak looked around for anything he could use as a weapon but realized with a sinking dread in his stomach that there was nothing and a good portion of his men had been either knocked out or restrained.

The blond slaver seemed well aware of this fact as he approached Oak and he held himself proudly, a insignia across his chest identified him as the captain of the slave ship. The blond captain was human, just like Oak and the two girls hiding somewhere else on the ship. For a split second Oak allowed his thoughts to travel to the girls as he realized that if he and his men were captured he had no idea what fate would befall them. To be once again be abandoned on the Etherium until someone rescued them or until storm or starvation took them. Or to be captured and taken as slaves, a fate that was particularly harsh on women, especially young lovely human women like Elizabeth or Kayley.

He hoped that whatever fate did fall to them it would be the easiest, kindest way to go.

_So what do you think of this chapter? Please let me know. Oh, and a thank you to LilweenGalatrass for being the first person to review to my story. Thank you. You might be wondering why there was an emphasis on the fact that Kayley and Elizabeth are human well that will be explained in the next chapter. Thank you for reading my story._

_Princess Kassie Out_

_P.S. I do know what a kitchen on a boat is called it's a galley Elizabeth didn't that's all._


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